Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1887-05-26
CHARMING HOMES.
The Part Taken by Loving Hands in Max
ing the Home Beautiful.

The Part Taken by Loving Hands In MAX
ing the Home Beautiful.
Women the world over have, during
the past few years, become profoundly
interested in the art of making the home
beautiful, and their efforts in that time
show them to be possessed of no mean
talent for decoration. A few years ago
(not SO very many) all this sort of
thing was left to the professional dec
orator and furnisher; those who were
not able to pay for these Injuries were
content, as a rule, to forego any thing
that smacked of 8stheticism or high
art in their surroundings. Of course,
there were exceptions, but they were
so rare as to be notable, and were, it
is safe to say, inspired by latent genius
of an extraordinary kind But the
women of the world have been grow
ing very rapidly of late years in artistic
knowledge. The facilities for getting
about have increased. The shops have
become magazines of art. There are
glorious opportunities for self-culture
that our grandmothers dreamed not of,
and women have been quick to avail
| themselves of this privilege. Owing.
perhaps, to the Yankee element
in their composition, American
| women are particularly shrewd
imitators,l and, even where they lack
the power of originality, appear to
make up such lack by their genius for
adapting to their own uses the designs
of others. 1t is this happy quality that
has transformed the homes of the peo-
pie from their former state of ugliness
into pleasing, even where it is not a
| genuinely artistic condition.
Especially in the way of coloring has
the taste of the people been improved.
The middle-aged among us can re-
member how religiously the color line
used to be drawn. The blues and
greens were rigidly separated; so were
the reds and pinks. 1t was daring
experiment to combine blue and pink,
and for many years only the more au-
dacious of woman kind accepted it.
And there was sterling honesty about
colors in those days, the remembrance
of which makes one shudder evenhow.
The distinct and dreadful blues and
greens, the incorporating reds!
Magenta and solferino strike terror to
the soul, even at this distance of time.
Happily, we have outgrown these
things and have no more of them.
Greens and blues have become united
and harmonious until they half puzzle
you as to which predominates.
Reds are toned down, although
they are not at all less bright, and
the pinks carry with them a fascinat-
ing hint of yellow. Of course, the
colors did not change without a rea-
son. The fact is that taste had grown
until such change was demanded. Il
did not come in advance, and had nc
part in working the revolution. The
people had simply grown until they
could no longer tolerate such atrocities
of coloring. They had learned some
thing of the laws of harmony and con-
trast, and began to have minds ofLheil
own. And 10! how great a change has
been wrought. The humblest cottage
now disports itself in artistic array
astheticism marks the costume of the
simplest village maiden.
To keep pace with these changes ir
popular sentiment the wit of manu-
: facturers and dyers is often severely
taxed. Women have come to know
< what they want and insist upon having
it. They think more, too. of the effee
7 of the juxtaposition of various article
: than ever before. The wise housewife
, with few hundred dollars to spend il
the furnishing of the modest little mes
| doubtless bestows more thought upol
? fitness and harmony than was given t.
} the furnishing of the costliest mansion
few years ago. This is as it shoul,
/ be, for with very limited outlay tn
unpretentious domicile may be trans
e formed into veritable Mecca TO a
lovers of the beautiful. III haladel a,hi
9 Record